Why extending the life cycle of our bikes is our top priority

Let us swiftly get one uncomfortable (for some) truth out of the way. Going electric isn’t what will play the most significant part in moving towards a zero emission society. To get there we need to use our stuff for longer.

By stuff, we mean just about anything you consume or use. In more elegant terms, this is known as extending the life cycle of a certain object. The concept of sustainability is complex, but luckily we all can contribute greatly by just making the most of what we have. This may sound obvious, in practice it however entails changing our perspective and re-learning what generations of fast paced consumption has taught us to value and cherish. Confused yet? Let's take a closer look at how we all can contribute.

Choose quality over quantity

No matter the object or circumstance, when it comes to sustainability you can’t go wrong by choosing quality over quantity. In our case, this means choosing the most durable materials when designing our bikes. In fact, when creating our very first motorcycle, the off-roader Kalk, we thoroughly created most parts from scratch, carefully investigating the toughest materials for the job in the process. This led us to source materials rigid enough to cater to riders hungry for airtime galore, grit and dirt. This insight and knowledge naturally has trickled down into our other bikes as well, anything robust enough to make it in the outback will outperform anything in the commuting category as well.

Repair and upgrade

By the end of the day, parts will wear out. We didn't write the rules here, it's merely physics. When we design our bikes, we use a modular concept where we first of all use as few components as possible while making sure that literally anything can be replaced - and upgraded! If say, advancements are made in battery tech, you simply can upgrade your bike with a new battery instead of having to buy a completely new bike. As important - we keep all parts in stock and you can purchase any individual part on your CAKE directly from us, through our website. Finally, you don’t need to be a veteran greasemonkey to repair your CAKE, we bent over backwards to make it as simple as possible. If you still don’t feel like doing it yourself, any regular bicycle shop will have the basic skills needed to carry out most repairs on our vehicles.

Last year’s model?

Again, keeping any product around for as long as possible is the best environmental policy by just about any standard known to man. By gracing each CAKE with a design that is as timeless as it is minimalistic, we envision them to be stunning lookers many years from now - yes, esthetics play a bigger part than people may realize in shaping the life cycle of any given product. If you ever feel like parting with your CAKE (a surreal concept, we know) we hope that you’ll find it a new home, perhaps through our own re:CAKE program, where we refurbish pre-owned bikes into unique objects that can be enjoyed by a new owner - literally extending the life cycle and saving a huge amount of resources in the process.

In the end

Ultimately, all things must come to an end. This does not however mean there can not be a new beginning. Read more about our initiatives in the article The end of life.

Naturally, we’ve hovered around the concept of motorbikes when exemplifying how we all can contribute to more sustainable practices. After all, that’s our reason to exist. But you can apply the overall concepts above to just about anything you consume. In the end, it all boils down to one very simple concept - minimizing consumption by taking better care of what you love.